Volpe and Luthmann Slam “Unhinged” Complaint as ‘Conspiracy Without a Claim’ and Call Out Astroturf Army
By Richard Luthmann with Michael Volpe
Jeremy Hales, the litigious YouTuber with a cultish following, allegations of Anti-Semitism, and a courtroom fetish, is under fire again—this time not from his targets but from reality.
His latest conspiracy-laced complaint isn’t just weak—it’s legally illiterate. His supposed war on defamation is imploding under the weight of his own ego, his echo chamber, and a serious misunderstanding of basic law. The court’s next move may be to dismiss the whole thing and punish him for wasting everyone’s time.
On Episode 34 of The Unknown Podcast, co-hosts Michael Volpe and Richard Luthmann torched Hales’ latest federal lawsuit, drafted by Trenton, Florida, Family Law Attorney Randall Shochet, as a “textbook shotgun pleading” that fails at every level of basic legal competency.
Shochet Shotgun Sham: The LEGO Lawsuit That Has No Trigger
Hales filed a sprawling defamation and conspiracy complaint against ten defendants, accusing them of launching a coordinated attack to destroy his reputation.
Jeremy Hales’ crackpot conspiracy is that YouTube LEGO jealousy led to a “vast media plot.” He and his attorney actually put this in legal papers.
But in doing so, he forgot a crucial element: specifying what, exactly, any of them did.
“You need to spell out the claims,” said Luthmann. “The who, what, when, where, why, and how. This complaint has none of it.”
Volpe read aloud from a motion filed by defendant Dave Helm’s attorney, Christopher Gage, which demands a more definite statement under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(e).
“This thing is a mess,” Volpe said. “It lumps all defendants together without identifying who did what. That’s not just sloppy—it’s fatal.”
Luthmann agreed: “This complaint should be thrown out. It doesn’t describe an object of the conspiracy, the agreement, or any overt acts. And it fails to allege defamatory statements that are actually actionable. You can’t sue someone for an opinion or misreading copyright law.”
Shochet Shotgun Sham: No Claim, No Conspiracy, No Case
At the core of Hales’ conspiracy claim is the laughable assertion that YouTubers and attorneys were conspiring to “take down Jeremy Hales.” But as Luthmann pointed out, “You can’t have a civil conspiracy unless there’s an actual civil wrong. ‘Taking down’ a public figure isn’t a tort.”
The only specific allegation about Helm, one of the defendants, is that he once invited Hales to build Legos on a livestream. When Hales declined, Helm allegedly became angry after seeing him play Legos with another YouTuber and joined a supposed conspiracy against him.
“This is what he’s hanging his legal claims on?” Volpe said in disbelief. “That Helm got jealous over Legos? And that’s proof of a malicious plot?”
Even the defamation count falls flat. Hales cites a video where Helm allegedly called him “twice as dumb,” claiming it was a factual assertion and not opinion. Luthmann scoffed at the argument.
“Calling someone dumb, even if you say ‘this is not an opinion,’ is still an opinion. That’s not defamatory. It’s laughable.”
Worse yet, Luthmann noted that even if Hales were defamed, litigation privilege likely shields most of the statements being complained about.
“When you’re in litigation, almost anything goes,” he said. “It’s war.”
Shochet Shotgun Sham: Meet the Echo Chamber—Hales’ Paid-By-The-Tweet Army
While Hales cries victim, Volpe and Luthmann exposed what they call his own propaganda network—an astroturfed “Pro-Hales Echo Chamber” made up of sock puppet Twitter accounts and YouTube sycophants like Megan Fox, JHip, Mary Lenkins, and The Umbrella Guy (TUG).
“They pop up on social media pretending to be random users, but they’re all pushing the same narrative,” said Volpe. “It’s coordinated. Classic astroturfing.”
Lenkins, a persistent heckler of Volpe on Twitter, tried to gaslight her way out in a bizarre email rant that sounded more like a Hallmark card than a legal denial.
“I’m not an astroturfer,” she wrote. “It’s just me, Mary, sitting here with my coffee… my bank account says dry as the leftover Easter ham.”
“Look,” Volpe said, “you harass me for weeks, then email me in all caps pretending you’re just a nice grandma trying to clean gravy off your dog? If she’s not being paid, she’s a fool. Because someone should be paying her for the work she’s putting in.”
Luthmann added, “This is how they operate. They bait you into engagement, then use that to create content. It’s manufactured outrage. It’s weaponized victimhood.”
Shochet Shotgun Sham: Collapse, Possible Sanctions Predicted
As the suit crumbles under legal scrutiny, Helm’s attorney has already demanded clarity—or dismissal. “This is a clear violation of Rule 8,” said Luthmann. “It’s vague, ambiguous, and fails to give notice of specific allegations.”
He continued: “They haven’t pled a civil wrong, they haven’t pled the conspiracy elements, and they haven’t pled the defamation with actual words. This is as frivolous as it gets.”
Volpe predicted that Hales’ attorney Randy Shochet won’t be able to amend the complaint.
“He doesn’t know what Helm did because Helm didn’t do anything. This case is going to fall apart.”
Both journalists suggested a counterattack.
“I’d file an anti-SLAPP motion and seek sanctions,” said Luthmann. “This isn’t just a bad lawsuit—it’s malicious lawfare.”
If Hales loses the motion, he may not just lose his case. He may end up owing his targets for trying to weaponize the courts to silence criticism.
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